Foremost historian, Prof. Toyin Falola, convened a global audience from over 26 countries to celebrate the life and legacy of late literary critic and public intellectual, Prof. Biodun Jeyifo.

The virtual event, chaired by Toyin Falola and streamed via Zoom, Facebook and Instagram, drew participants from across Africa, Europe, North America, Australia and parts of Asia, including institutional audiences from China. Under the theme “Biodun Jeyifo: Literary Guru and Activist,” the gathering brought together leading voices across academia, media and public life in what many described as a rare moment of global intellectual solidarity.

Opening the session, Falola said the forum was part of a tradition of honouring major figures in African thought.

“We (The Toyin Falola Interviews) have had this kind of celebration for iconic figures such as Ama Ata Aidoo, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Bethwell Ogot, and others. This is to celebrate our iconic figures,” he said.

Offering condolences to the family, he added: “It is a great loss, and we are here to honour Prof. Biodun Jeyifo. His intervention has been big in terms of scholarship.”

Reflecting on Jeyifo’s intellectual reach, Falola noted his ability to bridge local culture and global theory. “You could see how he was able to connect Yoruba cultural imagination to the bigger project of global theoretical formulations,” he said, describing him as a scholar whose career spanned Africa, the United States and China and who “has to be rated as among the world’s best postcolonial theorist.”

Across the session, speakers portrayed Jeyifo as a transnational intellectual whose influence extended far beyond the classroom.

Poet and scholar, Ogaga Ifowodo, described him as “a renaissance man, a man of many parts whose abilities knew no bounds,” adding that “one word describes Biodun Jeyifo and that is rigour.”

For journalist and civic advocate, Chido Onumah, Jeyifo represented a rare fusion of theory and social struggle. “Very few scholars can connect their scholarship and the quest for human liberation the way Biodun Jeyifo did,” he said.

Emerita Professor, Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka described the global gathering itself as part of the mourning process for a scholar whose life bridged continents. Writer and former legislator Wale Okediran highlighted Jeyifo’s practical support for activism, recalling how he helped to mobilise students and later supported literary and political advocacy efforts.

Former senator and journalist, Babafemi Ojudu, emphasised the late scholar’s mentoring style. “Biodun Jeyifo never consciously tried to make anyone a Marxist,” he said.

The event also drew participation from prominent academics and cultural figures, including Femi Osofisan, Tunde Adeniran, representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and numerous scholars and intellectuals across continents.